Allegiance
by Goatsplus
Summary: War is brewing. Kate has vanished on the night of the moonlight howl and now the fate of Jasper's wolves hangs in the balance. Plus with new, unknown threats bearing down on the packs can they survive? Set during and after the events of an AU A&O. Rated M for violence, course language, explicit content, etc (eventually). Read at your own risk.


**Chapter 1: Taken.**

 **Kate's POV:**

'Oh my god...' The thought hung in Kate's mind like a small light in a huge expanse of darkness. That sound. It was horrible. Like the cry of a strangled caribou. Kate look back up the hill, past the wolves who were enjoying the Moonlight Howl to where her 'partner' stood. He was a handsome wolf, she had to admit it. After hearing him howl though she just couldn't look at him the same way.

"... so come on. We're here after all."

Hearing her sister's voice, Kate shifted her gaze further down the hill to where Lilly sat with Humphrey, prompting him to howl with her. As Kate watched on from the shadows Lilly put her head back and began to howl gently, several wolves nearby actually pausing to listen. It was a beautiful and sweet sound, reminding her of innocence and happiness. Waiting for the right moment, Humphrey joined in, his soulful howl forming an amazing harmony with Lilly's. Kate could scarcely believe it. Wow could he howl. It was a sorrowful sound but beautiful nonetheless.

"Typical." Kate muttered to herself, turning away with a sad sigh. Maybe tomorrow she could...

"Ow!"

Kate yelped as something struck her, twisting around to see a strange red thing sticking into her leg. She reached down to pull it out but as she did her vision began to blur, the world spinning around as she stumbled. Kate tried to maintain her balance but after a trembling second she lost it, falling to the ground with a soft 'thump'. The last thing she heard as the darkness closed in was the sound of Humphrey and Lilly's beautiful duet and the sound of something or someone approaching her.

 _Some time later._

"Uuurrgh..." Kate groaned as she awoke, peering into the darkness around her as she tried to gain her bearings. Before she could properly awaken a sudden jerk threw her painfully into some kind of wall, making her cry out in pain. 'Where am I?' Kate thought to herself, licking at her sore shoulder to sooth it as she gave up on looking and listened instead. She shortly began to realise that she was in some form on box, on the back of a human vehicle and headed for god knows where. 'Shit...' Kate thought to herself, her stomach twisting and her breath quickening as she felt herself begin to panic.

This was bad. Very bad. Kate began to throw herself against the sides of the box she was trapped in, desperate to escape but it was useless and ten minutes all she had to show for her efforts was pain. Tired and hungry, Kate lay down on the cold floor, suppressing a sniffle as she waited to arrive at wherever it was they were headed. Roughly an hour or so later by Kate's reckoning whatever she was riding on skidded to a stop, sending her into the side of the box rather painfully once more. With a groan Kate hauled herself up, immediately bracing herself as the box she was in began to move, giving her the sensation of flying before it was slammed to the ground.

"Now's my chance..." Kate whispered as she heard the bolts sliding open, tensing her muscles and springing forth as soon as the door opened enough for her to fit. At full stride not a moment later Kate dashed into the forest, a golden- brown blur as she left the shocked humans far behind in moments. The alpha's powerful muscles continued to drive her, feet barely touching the ground as she flew along before slamming on the brakes and sliding to a stop mere inches from the edge of a cliff.

"Where... Am I?" Kate muttered, looking around in wonder at the scenery before her that she could see was clearly not Jasper. Not far away was the shores of an enormous lake, larger than any Kate had ever seen and dominating most of the valley in which it sat. The mountains themselves were clearly different as well, far more subdued than the intimidating peaks that were found in her home. 'Home.' The thought jumped into Kate's mind, dragging her away from the beautiful vista she'd been unintentionally admiring. She had to get back to Jasper or there'd be a war. But where was she?

Kate sat down on the edge of the cliff and took a deep breath, closing her eyes. As the gentle breezed ruffled her fur Kate took it all in, the warmth of the sun, the smells, the sounds. The air was slightly warmer than Kate was used to. She had travelled some distance south then. There were a lot of small animals around. So no wolves or any large numbers of predators. Definitely quite a ways south. Kate smiled as she opened her eyes, looking up at the sun for a moment to determine her bearings. She was calmer now that she had a clear course of action to follow. Even before Alpha School she'd been a wolf of action, never wanting to sit around and let life come to her.

Just as Kate was about to move off a new sound reached her ears. A howl. Kate paused to listen, swinging her head in the direction it was coming from but it was too far to see anything so she contented herself with eavesdropping. It was a breathtaking piece, rolling over the hills and valley like wave that spoke of regret and thanks. Once it was done Kate moved off once more, more on guard now that she knew other wolves were in the area as she set a steady paced, moving through the forest quickly and quietly. She made good time as she headed north, eyes open for any kind of landmark she could use to figure out where she was and praying that she'd make it back to Jasper in time. After a few hours of running Kate started to get hungry, slower her paced as her Alpha training kicked in and she looked for something to eat.

It didn't take her long. After erasing her presence, small game began to appear in droves. They were totally unaware of the danger lurking in their midst as they scurried about foraging for food. Kate was just about to take down some rabbits when a far more enticing meal landed nearby in the form of a large goose. Dismissing the fortunate rabbits, Kate slunk closer, carefully waiting for its back to turn before she pounced. The poor creature didn't even have time to turn around, its surprised squawk cut short as her powerful jaws clamped down around its throat. Warm blood flooded Kate's mouth as she crushed the bird's windpipe, leaving it dead in moments and hanging limply in her jaws.

She took the carcass over to a nearby fallen tree, lying in the shelter of the trunk as she began to eat her prize, first tearing off and spitting out a mouthful of feathers to expose the meat beneath. Once she had finished, Kate prepared herself once more to move on, glancing at the sun to gain her bearings. It had nearly dipped below the mountains now, casting long shadows throughout the valley. As Kate was looking up she noticed that the large grey clouds that had been lurking on the horizon that morning were far closer now, threatening rain or worse as they hovered menacingly in the sky.

"Looks like it's gonna be a long night..." Kate muttered with a sigh, putting her head down and resigning herself to another long, cold and wet night. Not half an hour later the first drops began to fall, fat and heavy as the icy water clung to her fur. Determined not to be deterred, Kate lowered her head, shoulders slumped as she continued to make her dogged way through the rain and increasingly strong winds. 'This is a big storm.' Kate thought to herself as she had to stop and brace herself for a moment against a fierce gust of wind.

With a shiver Kate continued on, the rain falling faster than ever, forcing her to squint to try and see more than a few metres in front of herself. 'I can do this. I can do this. I can...' Kate repeated the same thought over and over in her mind to motivate herself and keep the thoughts of her family that she missed sorely from her mind. As she trudged north Kate began to hear another sound, at first only whenever a gust caused the rain to ease up but then it got louder and louder as she walked, soon becoming a tumultuous roar that drowned out even the wind and the rain. Kate was starting to get concerned by what it was but her question was answered a moment later as she arrived at the edge of a ravine.

"Shit..." Kate said, looking down in trepidation at the overflowing river turned rapids by the downpour she was caught in. Not far to her right there was the remains of a long destroyed bridge, it's tattered remains swaying as every so often they caught on some debris floating past in the torrent of water and mud. It wasn't that far to the other side and Kate was fairly confident she could make it. She'd have to jump across right above the water though. With her plan sorted Kate backed up a few paces, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"You can do this!" She said aloud, opening her eyes with a look of fierce concentration as she released her breath and took off at a run, leaping fearlessly over the edge of the ravine and beginning to slide down the side. At first it went as planned, the rocks made slick by the coating of rain and mud and once Kate had almost reached the bottom she jumped, her powerful muscles compelling her across the deadly floodwaters to the other side where she desperately clawed for a grip. Slowly, and with her already tired muscles crying in complaint, Kate began to move up the ledge. Two thirds of the way up however Kate placed her paw on a solid looking rock an began to pull herself up. As soon as her weigh was on it though she felt it shift, her stomach dropping it pulled out of the ravine wall entirely, sending them both tumbling down.

Kate felt like she was moving in slow motion as she fell back, flailing for anything to grab onto as she plummeted down towards the murky water. In spite of all her training she couldn't stop the scream that escaped her lips, the sound ringing in her ears for a split-second before she hit the river. As she hit the water Kate was instantly picked up by the current, its hooks grabbing her and dragging her along the riverbed. Her eyes stung as she desperately tried to fight the current but her efforts were in vain and a second later she gasped as she was slammed into a rock, water instantly rushing in and filling her lungs as her vision began to cloud over.

'No, no, no...' Was the last thought that went through Kate's mind as she passed out, pushed along by the current for around thirty metres before being caught on a log.

 **A/N: So, new story. What do you think? This one is a lot more off the cuff so please review with thoughts and ideas. I hope you all like it.**


End file.
